New research has revealed that the UK needs to more than double the rate at which it is rolling out publicly accessible charge points if it is to meet its target of installing 300,000 by the end of the decade.

Over the past year, from April 2023 to March 2024, the UK installed 16,061 new charge points – just over 1,300 a month.

Data analysed for Cornwall Insight’s Electric Vehicle Country Attractiveness (EVCA) Index, has revealed that as of the end of March 2024 (Q1 2024) the UK had 75,074 publicly accessible charge points. This means it needs nearly 225,000 new chargers to be rolled out by 2030 to meet its target.

One of the biggest challenges facing the roll out of the infrastructure is the identification of optimum locations for EV chargers.

This article will unpack some core considerations for the spatial and temporal optimisation of EV charge point deployment and how the use of cloud based geo-spatial planning tools such as LAEP+ (Local Area Energy Planner Plus) can identify, accelerate and significantly reduce the costs associated with EV charge point rollout.

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^{Who are the key stakeholders involved in the planning EV Charge Point Roll Out?}

• Local authorities are at the heart of the multistakeholder approach that is required to deliver public charge points effectively. 

• EV Solution Providers and Charge point Operators (CPOs) install, manage, maintain and operate charge points and the charging stations (both technical and administrative). 

• Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) are licensed to distribute energy to homes and businesses. They own and operate the distribution electricity network which is facing constraints and a large influx of new connection requests for EV charge points. There are 6 licensed DNOs in Great Britain covering different geographic areas. 

Collaborating and consulting across stakeholders to ensure optimum deployment of charging infrastructure is a big challenge.

LAEP+  is currently facilitating collaboration between Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), Oxfordshire County Council and Dundee City Council through projects LEO and RESOP. Current LAEP+ users are making use of geospatial data to optimise the rollout of many kinds of low carbon technologies, including EV charge points. 

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^{What to consider when identifying locations to site EV charge points?}

An optimum EV infrastructure strategy should consider the following:

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• Predicted EV charging demand

As of December 2023 there were just over 53,000 on street charge points, in order to reach the Government target of 300,000 public charge points by 2030 it is vital that planners can forecast and model the future demand and not only present demand. The fair and equitable provision of charging infrastructure will be critical to a successful Energy Transition. 

Aside from meeting consumer needs, this has important implications for revenue generation. Missed opportunities to deploy faster chargers in high need areas or placement in low utilisation regions represents an opportunity cost.    

Modelling demand for public charge points requires access to datasets about vehicle ownership, residents ability to charge at home, consumer preferences, shifting populations and the physical environment that will evidence where and when to target charge point provision, down to the street-level.

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• Electricity Network capacity for EV charepoints

In some regions, the electricity network is severely constrained, with substations and cables already at maximum capacity. Low carbon technologies like heat pumps and EV charge points are substantial loads compared to traditional residential homes. In order to connect public charge points, CPOs and local authorities must submit connection applications to their local Distribution Network Operator (DNO).

Historically, in constrained regions, this could lead to a large bill required to reinforce a constrained network to support additional demand. As reinforcement costs become socialised, the challenge is moving to time delays and potentially substantial wait times to connect.

Understanding network capacity in any given area prior to submitting a request to the DNO can save as much as 30% of projects from being cancelled due to connection costs and delays.  Often, micro adjustments in location can be enough to move the load onto unconstrained network areas. 

Increasingly DNOs are making data available through open data portals and heat maps that go to primary - and occasionally secondary substation level. 

• UKPN data portal
• SSEN heat maps
• SPEN heat maps
• Northern Power Grid
• Electricity North West heat map 
• National Grid Distribution capacity map (Western Power Distribution)

Planners often need access to more network data than public portals can provide. Through LAEP+, we have been working with DNOs and charge point planners to make even more network constraint data available on an easy to access and visualise planning tool to support an optimised rollout.  

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• Location suitability

As new street furniture, on-street charge points need to be positioned carefully taking into consideration conversation areas, pavement suitability for on street charge points, local residents and other street furniture in the area. Avoiding negatively impacting pedestrians and local communities is key to a successful EV infrastructure plan.

Understanding the suitability of pavements and curbsides for installation of on-street EV charge points should be a major factor in the identification of suitable sites. Curbsides are ruled unsuitable if they are within 2.5 metres of a sim touch, which is any metal object connected to your electricity supply. Similarly pavements with a width of 2.5 metres or less are likely unsuitable. 

Installing a charge point on a pavement takes up valuable space so it is important to asses where space has already been restricted by other street furniture, such as road signs, feeder pillars, and bike racks. 

It’s also worth considering whether the charge point might negatively impact local residents. Concealing charge point in lamposts and siting them out of the direct view of resident windows can be important in resident buy in. 

Consideration must be taken where potential EV charge points are located within Conservation Area or near a Heritage Asset. Often planning permission must be sort and so by understanding where these sites are located prior to a feasibility study can save time and budget in planning applications.

LAEP+ has helped support curbside suitability assessments with desktop assessment of pavement and lampost suitability that takes into account the physical set up of the site.

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^{Where can Local Authorities and EV solution providers access this data?}

^‍Predicting how many charge points are needed, what charge point types (slow, fast, rapid, ultra-rapid) and where they should be located is inherently difficult without the right data. 

Without the right information, planners risk leaving some residents behind, spending excessively, losing revenues and wasting time on excessive physical assessments.  

Access to granular data about charging demand, network capacity, and pavement suitability is now available and can support planners to identify the optimal locations, avoid wasted effort, collaborate with key stakeholders and evidence the siting of low carbon technologies.

In the most recent report published by the Cabinet Office's Geospatial Commission, Advanced Infrastructure’s LAEP+ tool has been positioned as a solution for EV Solution Providers, Local Authorities and Distribution Network Operators to predict how many charge points are needed, and where they should be located.

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LAEP+ combines browser-based geospatial analysis with datasets, such as:

• Electricity network capacity, 
• EV charge point locations, 
• Street furniture, 
• PTAL, 
• Demographics,
• Desktop studies of pavement suitability for on street charge points,
• And more…

LAEP+ enables users to search & filter across the map to triage potential sites and shortlist opportunities. Optimise site selection by network capacity, building type, heating need, income, fuel poverty, demographic, and more.

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_{Summary of how Local Authorities can optimise the siting of EV charge points}

The UK Government has committed to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035. A comprehensive and reliable public EV charge point network is critical to greater adoption of EVs. In order for this to happen, the UK’s charging network must expand rapidly so that it is dependable, fair and covers the entire country.

Despite significant early progress for charge point roll out, action is needed to go further and faster. 

The current rate of charge point roll out is not fast enough to meet the predicted 2030 requirements and by utilising both granular data and geospatial planning tools, Local Authorities can significantly speed accelerate this transition to low carbon technologies. 

Finally a collaborative effort from EV solution providers, Local Authorities and network operators is essential to a speedy roll out, and utilising a tool that enables visibility and data access will also be crucial to its success.

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_{Request a FREE DEMO of LAEP+}

If you're interested in learning more about how LAEP+ can support you and your teams in identifying, accelerating and significantly reducing the costs associated with EV charge point rollout, you can now request a FREE DEMO on our LAEP+ page.

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